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The platform economy has entered its second decade, and researchers are developing new theorizations of it as an economic form. One important feature is a heterogeneous labor force with respect to hours of work. In this paper, we identify another type of heterogeneity, which is the diversity of economic orientation of earners. Using in-depth interview data from 102 earners on three platforms (Airbnb, TaskRabbit, and StocksyUnited) we find that even within individual platforms, earners have different behavioral models. We have identified three — the maximizing homo economicus; sociologists’ relational homo socialis; and homo instrumentalis. We present evidence of these three types. We then discuss platform policies and how earner diversity aligns with their imperatives for growth.

The climate crisis requires nations to achieve human well-being with low national levels of carbon emissions. Countries vary from one another dramatically in how effectively they convert resources into well-being, and some nations with low levels of emissions have relatively high objective and subjective well-being. We identify urgent research and policy agendas for four groups of countries with either low or high emissions and well-being indicators. Least studied are those with low well-being and high emissions. Understanding social and political barriers to switching from high-carbon to lower-carbon modes of production and consumption, and ways to overcome them, will be fundamental.

Aims: Previous studies had revealed that cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus is often met with a lot of challenges ranging from environmental to biological factors which adversely affect the successful cultivation of the mushroom. Hence, a need to determine factors against mycelia colonization of substrate during mushroom’s cultivation.Methodology and Result: Conventional streak method was employed to establish the percentage inhibition as well as intercolony distance between the test organisms obtained from the infected substrate and mycelia of the mushroom during substrate colonization. The test organisms are: a fungus, Kutilakesopsis macalpineae and a bacterium,Pseudomonas tolaasii. The effect of pH and temperature on the mycelia growth of P. ostreatus was also investigated. There was a gradual increase in the percentage inhibition from 33.3 % at 24 h to 75.0 % at 168 h for K. macalpineae and 37.5 % at 24 h to 70.0 at 168 h for P. tolaasii. The inter-colony distance between the antagonists and the mushroom mycelium gradually decreased. Optical density of the mycelium growth was at its optimum at pH 4.5 and temperature of25 °C respectively. In vitro study also showed a significant increase in the optical density from 0.855±0.03 at 24 h to 1.316±0.02 at 168 h in the absence of test antagonist as against 0.812±0.06 and 0.79±0.02 at 24 h to 1.103±0.03 and 0.902±0.03 at 168 h when K. macalpineae and P.tolaasii were used as test antagonistic respectively.Conclusion, significance and impact of study: Sterilization of substrate is essential to avoid contamination during mycelia colonization. Also, slightly acidic medium and temperature control is necessary for high yield of fruit bodies.

Juliet Schor, economista de renom i catedràtica de sociologia, identifica signes vitals de resistència iesperança en un món confrontat per desafiaments ecològics extrems. En el seu molt lúcid i documentattreball, l’autora mostra les interconnexions existents entre un amenaçant col·lapse ecològic, la pobresaglobal i les crisis econòmiques. Mentre les proves al voltant de la intensitat dels abusos humans globalssobre la nostra biosfera segueixen augmentant, les estructures, teories i polítiques econòmiqueshegemòniques, en lloc d’oferir solucions sensates, segueixen exacerbant la contribució humana a ladegradació del medi ambient del nostre planeta. Mentre els economistes de les societats riques segueixentractant el medi ambient com un be de luxe, les proves científiques ens diuen que la humanitat no potpermetre’s el luxe d’esperar que certs individus percebin que són novament rics abans de prendre accionsefectives. Segons explica l’autora, hi ha una necessitat urgent de trobar noves formes de reduir les nostrespetjades ecològiques i les emissions de gas d’efecte hivernacle mentre es resolen els problemes econòmicsdel Nord global i augmenten els estàndards de vida de la gent pobre del Sud global. Aquest és el problemareal del nostre temps i el nucli dels conflictes i canvis socials que tenim pel davant. Com demostra JulietSchor en el seu article, necessitem una rampa de sortida, una visió econòmica de transició cap a unaeconomia planetària sostenible que es fonamenti, no només en una comprensió clara del lloc on hem estat,sinó de la resistència d’un moviment emergent i en expansió de persones que estan forjant un camí cap auna nova plenitud.

BackgroundSuicide prevention is a public health priority, but risk factors for suicide after medical hospitalization remain understudied. This problem is critical for women, for whom suicide rates in the United States are disproportionately increasing.ObjectiveTo differentiate the risk of suicide attempt and self-harm following general medical hospitalization among women with depression, bipolar disorder, and chronic psychosis.MethodsWe developed a machine learning algorithm that identified risk factors of suicide attempt and self-harm after general hospitalization using electronic health record data from 1628 women in the University of California Los Angeles Integrated Clinical and Research Data Repository. To assess replicability, we applied the algorithm to a larger sample of 140,848 women in the New York City Clinical Data Research Network.ResultsThe classification tree algorithm identified risk groups in University of California Los Angeles Integrated Clinical and Research Data Repository (area under the curve 0.73, sensitivity 73.4, specificity 84.1, accuracy 0.84), and predictor combinations characterizing key risk groups were replicated in New York City Clinical Data Research Network (area under the curve 0.71, sensitivity 83.3, specificity 82.2, and accuracy 0.84). Predictors included medical comorbidity, history of pregnancy-related mental illness, age, and history of suicide-related behavior. Women with antecedent medical illness and history of pregnancy-related mental illness were at high risk (6.9%-17.2% readmitted for suicide-related behavior), as were women below 55 years old without antecedent medical illness (4.0%-7.5% readmitted).ConclusionsPrevention of suicide attempt and self-harm among women following acute medical illness may be improved by screening for sex-specific predictors including perinatal mental health history.

How do gig workers respond to the various financial, physical, and legal risks their work entails? Answers to this question have remained unclear, largely because previous studies have overlooked structurally induced variations in the experience of platform work. In this article, we develop a theory of differential embeddedness to explain why workers' orientations toward the risks of gig work vary. We argue further that because platforms define themselves merely as mediators of exchanges between workers and customers, they systematically expose workers to various forms of customer malfeasance, ranging from fraud and tip baiting to harassment and assault. We develop this perspective using interviews with 70 workers in the ride-hail, grocery shopping, and food delivery sectors. The structure of labor platforms indirectly invites workers to exhibit distinct normative orientations toward the risks that gig work entails while also multiplying the sources of these risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compared standard tillage (ST) and conservation tillage (CT) for tomato and cotton production systems, with winter cover crops (CC) and without (NO), in Five Points, Calif., from 1999 to 2003. Conservation tillage reduced tractor trips across the field by 50% for tomatoes and 40% for cotton compared to standard tillage. When averaged over the 2001 to 2003 period (when the conservation tillage systems were established), tomato yields in CTNO were 6 to 8 tons per acre higher than the other treatments. In cotton, the STNO cotton yields during this period were the highest of all treatments and were 276 pounds per acre higher than the CTNO system. In-field dust concentrations were also significantly reduced by conservation tillage. Our results suggest that conservation tillage may be a viable alternative for managing tomato and cotton crops in the San Joaquin Valley, but that fine-tuning of the systems is needed.